OPSEU membership grows with addition of new members

Stronger representation of health and university sectors: OPSEU

10/16/2012|labour-reporter.com|Last Updated: 10/16/2012

Workers at the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Ontario division in Toronto and campus police officers at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., are now represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU).

On Oct. 11, CMHA workers voted 83 per cent in favour of joining the union, in what OPSEU president Warren Thomas called a “solid addition to the union’s mental health division.”

The campus officers at Western, who provide security and enforcement services for the university, voted 90 per cent in favour on Sept. 21. The officers are a part of the University of Western Ontario Police Association (UWOPA), and UWOPA president Doug Rook says the members are happy about being represented by OPSEU.

“The mere mention of OPSEU/NUPGE has moved the dynamics of our workplace in a positive direction,” Rook said in a press release. “There are still a lot of issues to be addressed and we're still striving for a safe and respectful workplace, but we're confident these issues will be addressed and we look forward to even more improvements in the near future.”